Pepperoni Rolls Recipe

A family favorite! This Pepperoni Rolls Recipe makes a perfect lunch! Make these ahead and freeze for a grab and pack lunch idea! When I was little my mom and my grandma made these ALL of the time. It was a special treat when they got to baking and I knew I was going to have a Pepperoni Roll for lunch. These things are the best. My mom went to high school in West Virginia where these are traditionally from. In my opinion, this is one West Virginia tradition that should be shared everywhere!

Over the years we have used different bread dough recipes. You can even make these with the store bought frozen bread dough if you don’t feel like making your own. I have been making them for the last 15 years with this super simple refrigerator bread dough. I love it because I can make it as far as 4 days in advance and it just keeps in the fridge.

When putting these together take your dough and pat it out into a circle, place the pepperoni slices on, and then roll it up like a jelly roll. Pinch the ends together and press the seems in before placing it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Once these rise just pop them in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. That is all it takes for this delicious homemade treat!

Instructions

Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast is foamy about 5 minutes.

Stir in butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough is too stiff to mix. (I just use a wooden spoon and mix this by hand. Use at least the 4 cups. The dough will still be sticky but hard to mix.)

Cover and refrigerate 2 hours up to 4 days (I forgot to mention you can totally make this ahead of time and toss it in the fridge)

Turn the Chilled dough out on a lightly floured board or counter.

I divide the dough into halves, then quarters and go from there. You can make these any size you would like. Just make sure they are uniform so they bake evenly. I got 20 rolls out of a full batch of dough.

Work the dough with your hand on the floured surface. Flour your hands if necessary. Flatten and lay as many pepperoni as desired on top. Roll up and pinch edges shut with fingers.

Place rolls on parchment lined baking sheet 1-2 inches apart because they will rise.

Once baking sheet is full cover with dish towel and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Chiming back in to say that I made these on Saturday and used your pizza dough recipe instead. It was delicious and fast! I love the herbs in this dough. The recipe made about 12 rolls and between four of us, there was only one left. Thanks!!!

I cook your recipes about three times a week. I’m in the repeat stage right now and my sons and husband beg for certain ones now. You’re great!

I was also born and raised in Clarksburg, WV and am now living in South Florida. People here have no idea what pepperoni rolls are. I’ve had to make them quite a few times and take to work. Now they all love them. I’m just glad to know that I have my grandma’s recipe to make these… YUM!!!!

Holy smokes! This blog, and your idea Dawn, just totally made my day! This is my first time visiting (came from moneysavingmom) and I’m impressed!

Thanks for these great recipes. Can’t wait to explore more recipes on your site! Really looking forward to trying out these pepperoni rolls- I’ve never had one and DS loves pepperoni. Do you by chance know if your bread recipe can be put in a bread machine???

I’m from Clarksburg, WV, as well, and pepperoni rolls are a fixture there. I have to make my own now as well since we live in Texas. However, I always use sticks in mine. That’s how our bakery always made them, and I can’t seem to break away. You just cut from a large pepperoni stick into smaller sticks and put them in your dough as above.

Here’s some history on pepperoni rolls in WV from the NY Times (my fave bakery even gets a mention – D’Annunzio’s):

Wow!!!! I grew up in Texas and there was only one place to get these: Double Dave’s. I now reside in CA, but when I head back to TX I try to stop by Double Dave’s and pick up a dozen for the flight home. (Perfect for those Southwest flights where they don’t feed you.) This is my first time to your blog (thanks to the link from totallytarget.com) and you’ve got an instant fan just based on this recipe. I like the ideas others have thrown out (ham and cheddar, broccoli….). My initial reaction to reading this post was to try it out with whole wheat dough. I can’t wait!!!!!

I use the frozen bread dough from the store then thaw it out…after it rises spread it out on a cookie sheet to fill it. Then add thin sliced ham across the whole surface peperoni,salami and mozzarella. All sliced thin! then let it rise foe a bit then cook in the oven…Deelicious

just wondering if i have to set the dough for an hour once they are rolled onto the cookie sheet. i didnt see that when i read the directions to begin with and i am starving and i want to eat these like now

I made the dough in my Kitchenaide but it was REALLY sticky and I wasn’t sure if I did it right. It stuck to my hands, the board and almost everything, I added 4 1/4 c flour but didn’t want to add to much and it is hard to tell since I wasn’t mixing by hand. Is this dough normally pretty sticky and easy to flatten by hand? I am trying a batch filled with peanut butter and jelly. We will see how these turn out for my daughter’s lunches, it may be a disaster but live and learn right?

Since this is a refrigerator dough, I have only ever mixed it by hand. The dough is sticky. You will want to refrigerate at least 2 hours before using it and then it is good to go. Just use a floured surface to work with it, but it stiffens as it cools.

All I can say is YUM!! They were a little messy and got some PB&J cooked out the side, which I then had to eat off the sheet of course, but they are SOOOOO good and my daughter is sooo excited about having a really special sandwich for school!

I finally tried the recipe out today. I made an herbed whole wheat dough in my bread maker and filled them with canadian bacon and swiss cheese. WOW!!!! My family hasn’t tried them yet, but they are going to flip for these. I did have to blot the canadian bacon because I found them to be too wet. I can’t wait to try these with pepperoni and provolone, and….. I can see this recipe coming back in different flavors quite often. Thanks again!!!

Good recipe. I used the bread maker on the dough cycle. I should have made them smaller and not so thick. The bread is yummy and tasty. It was a long process. I wont do it after work but would make another batch on the weekend.

Wow! I lost this recipe and looked and looked for it online for years. I found it again yesterday and I wasn’t sure it was the right one….until my 1 year old scrolled down through the comments and I saw MY COMMENT from 2011!! Crazy!! I’m currently making these again, right now!

We’re from Fairmont, WV, and now living in Palm Springs, CA. I was so glad to find a recipe for pepperoni rolls that didn’t use frozen bread dough!

These were really good. Next time, I will cut back the sugar a bit. I made fried bell peppers and onions in my homemade sauce (like Oliverio’s) and mozzarella cheese. Also, I made them larger and used the entire dough for pepperoni rolls.

I grew up in Glenville, WV and moved to AZ right before my senior year of high school. I was floored to discover that outside of WV pepperoni rolls are completely unheard of an non existent unless someone has friends or family from WV. I make these all the time, especially when I’m feeling homesick. Although, being born and raised a West by God Virginian, I’m a purist when it comes to my pepperoni rolls. Any embellishment other than maybe a bit of cheese is a deadly sin and the second someone calls them pizza rolls they have lost privileges to have any from that batch until they straighten up! Lol

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Amanda is a busy mom of 3 that is constantly on the lookout for shortcuts to add more happiness to the day. She loves creating recipes, printables, DIY, and sharing family fun tips with you. Read More…